Californians are voting in a wide-open governor’s race with no clear frontrunner, and the latest California governor race polls show Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra locked in the lead. Tom Steyer is close behind, while only two candidates will move on to the general election in November.
The latest Democratic Party poll puts Hilton at 22% and Becerra at 21%, with Steyer at 15%. That snapshot comes as voters choose under California’s open primary system, which lets the top two vote-getters advance no matter what party they belong to. The state adopted that system after voters approved Proposition 14 in 2010, and it has turned this race into a test of name recognition, turnout and late-deciding voters.
The contest is especially unsettled because several of the state’s biggest Democratic names stayed out. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla passed on running for governor, and early in the spring Democratic voters appeared to be coalescing behind former Rep. Eric Swalwell before he withdrew from the race following allegations of sexual misconduct. That left Becerra and Steyer to absorb a field that never settled into one dominant lane.
Voting is still far from done. One week before Election Day, 92% of California voters had not yet submitted their ballots, and officials are still working through a system that gives mail, drop-off and in-person voters multiple ways to participate. Mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by election offices within seven days, but election workers say it is best to mail a ballot by Thursday, or at least five days before June 2, to make sure it is counted. Ballots can also be dropped off or cast in person at the polls from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
County elections officials must begin reporting results to the secretary of state on Election Night no more than two hours after they start tallying votes, but the final count will take time. Officials have 30 days to count ballots and finalize results, and the state then has 38 days to certify them. That means the first numbers on election night will only be the start of the answer, not the end of it.
The race also underscores how much the state’s unusual system can shape who survives the primary. Under Proposition 14, voters can choose any candidate regardless of party registration, and the two highest finishers move on. That is why Becerra, Hilton and Steyer are all fighting for the same narrow opening. If the polling holds, Becerra and Hilton are the pair most likely to make it through. If it shifts, Steyer remains the candidate with the clearest path to break the top two.
